Despite high gold prices, last week's collapse of View Resources - and the earlier capitulations of Gleneagle Gold, Croesus Mining and Sons of Gwalia - have left some investors wary of the state's gold sector.

Apex Minerals and Monarch Gold, backed by some mining industry heavyweights, are trying to buck the trend.

The managing director of Apex, Mark Ashley, has kicked off a three-week tour of Asia, Europe and the US to promote his company before the company seeks $55 million in financing for its Wiluna project.

Apex has yet to decide on the format of the financing package needed to get Wiluna back into production by the end of the year.

The Wiluna plant could produce 150,000 ounces of gold next year through blending lower-grade Wiluna ore with ore from two other higher-grade deposits within trucking distance.

Apex forecasts its costs at about 550 Australian dollars an ounce and does not plan forward sales of its gold, although it could take out some put options.

Meanwhile, Michael Kiernan's Monarch Gold is expected to emerge from a nine-day trading suspension after seeking to raise about $10 million through a bookbuild, down from an earlier target of up to $25 million. The initial disappointing performance of Monarch's Davyhurst operations left it with only $1.45 million at the end of the last quarter.

Kiernan admits it is tough to raise money these days, and within three months he is going to have to hit up the Canadian market for a lot more to fund Monarch's $65 million acquisition of Harmony Gold's Hill 50 mine. He says Davyhurst should be cash flow-positive by next month and Monarch should produce 130,000 ounces at a cost of $650 an ounce during the next financial year.

Big Macquarie hit

It is always disappointing for a company when a big investor lodges a substantial shareholding notice stating that it has cut its investment.

The signal to other shareholders is pretty clear: the prospects of further capital growth are limited and it is time to sell down or even get out.

But in the case of the arch-rivals Macquarie Group and Babcock&Brown such a move is tantamount to a punch to the solar plexus that leaves other investors gasping as they consider whether to follow suit.

Such was the situation yesterday when Macquarie revealed it had cut its stake in B&B Infrastructure, the trust that owns ports, rail links and energy production and distribution businesses across the globe. Macquarie has been a long-term holder in BBI on behalf of clients and on its own account - a reflection that it knows a good thing when it sees it, especially financial re-engineering of asset ownership and management, at which it, itself, excels.

However, with BBI having indicated that it has pushed its deal-making to the limit following its involvement in the $7.9 billion break-up of Alinta, Macquarie must have reckoned that any growth in earnings is, at best, going to be only steady from now on.

Hence, its decision on Monday to cut its stake from 6.63 per cent to 5.62 per cent. Interestingly, Macquarie appears to have baled at $1.26 a share - a better price than the low of $1.16 at the end of January but 10c shy of yesterday's surprisingly buoyant close of $1.36.

Take a media towel The profit season for media stocks begins in earnest today when Austereo and West Australian Newspapers report.

Most brokers have forecast strong earnings for the December half as a robust economy and spending for the federal election propped up advertising dollars. Two wild cards will be the Seven Network and Consolidated Media Holdings, with uncertainty about how much business information new private equity owners will provide.

But most media analysts warn of rising risks that a US recession could eat into advertising by multinational companies in Australia.

Judging from past recessions and the ad slowdown after the September 11 attacks, he said it is "highly likely" that Australian media companies will be affected if the world's biggest economy goes pear-shaped. In his favourite picks for uncertain times, the Macquarie analyst recommended Seek, Fairfax Media and News Corp because all three were cheap and had growth engines such as online or pay TV that could make them grow faster than rivals in a tougher ad environment.

Adding a final piece of wisdom, Mr Pollak reminded his clients of the central messages in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy: "Don't panic!" and "Take a towel."

Love is in the air Telstra's apparent decision to make love - and not war - seems like a no-brainer.

That is because Citi analysts reckon a "make love" approach with the Federal Government before negotiations over an $8 billion-plus national broadband network would justify a valuation for Telstra of more than $4 a share, whereas it calculates a "make war" strategy implies a price of less than $4.

Of course, many industry insiders remain sceptical of Telstra's love-in with government, after its pitched battle with the Coalition, since, as in the election lead-up, it remains a marriage of convenience.

But this could change as soon as the Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, releases details - expected this month - for a tender process for a high-speed network reaching 98 per cent of the population. Telstra previously ruled out taking part in a joint venture, which has been a key plank of government plans to pour $4.7 billion of taxpayers' funds into the project.

Quick, slow, slow Will the Reserve Bank kill us all?

The Reserve has signalled it wants to see a dramatic slowdown in economic growth - tipping the non-farm growth rate to tumble to 2.75 per cent by the end of 2008, from its 2007 clip of 4.5 per cent. But is it realistic to expect growth to slow so dramatically? And, more pointedly, what is the Reserve prepared to do to ensure it does?

Many economists are unsure whether the Reserve's forecasts - published in this week's Statement on Monetary Policy - are achievable. John Edwards of HSBC calls them "valiant".

Macquarie Research's Brian Redican and Annette Martins say reductions in government or business spending are unlikely to drive the slower growth, which leaves household consumption to carry the can.

But, with unemployment at 30-year lows, and tax cuts pumping money into purses, households are doing OK. Thus, "if the RBA is serious about slowing growth to the extent indicated, then it may have to raise interest rates much more aggressively than the market currently expects", the Macquarie team write.

Which, for investors, is scary, considering the market expects two more rate rises this year.